No, I’m not talking literally about the world’s most expensive drink (quite possibly the “27.321” – a Dhs 27,321 (£4,630) cocktail once offered at the Skyview Bar, Burj Al Arab, Dubai), but the more serious case of drink-driving.

Last week, ex-England football player Carlton Palmer was arrested in Dubai for drink-driving. Unlike most ex-England players, he wasn’t in the UAE to treat a long-suffering wife to a week of sunshine and cocktails after an infidelity scandal: Palmer actually lives in Dubai, where he works as a school football coach.

According to press reports, the arrest came when police pulled him over for jumping a red light. They then found he had alcohol in his system, which Palmer says was from the night before. He was held in jail overnight before being granted a Dhs 20,000 (£3,380) bail… Read more